Lacus looked at Captain Murrue with a troubled expression before shaking her head.
"The negotiations ended in failure!"
Her brief and calm words shattered the anticipation in everyone's eyes.
After the disappointment faded, Murrue quickly composed herself. With a serious expression, she looked at Lacus and spoke firmly.
"We must stick to our original course!"
Lacus nodded in agreement as she looked at Murrue.
Among the group, Cagalli voiced something entirely different from Murrue.
"Lacus, is there really no room for negotiation?"
Hearing the lingering hope in Cagalli's voice to resolve things through dialogue, Lacus shook her head solemnly, crushing that wish.
"If there were, I wouldn't be telling you all this."
With her hopes dashed, Cagalli's expression darkened. She pressed her lips together, collected her emotions, and looked up at Lacus to ask.
"Lacus, what do we do next?"
"PLANT has sent reinforcements, and the Earth Alliance is likely to do the same." Analyzing the situation, Lacus took a deep breath before continuing. "This means the coming battles will be even more intense, and they could very well decide the outcome."
"Are you suggesting we intervene in the upcoming battle?"
Murrue interrupted after hearing Lacus's analysis.
Lacus looked at Murrue, didn't elaborate further, but nodded in agreement. Upon hearing they would be entering the war, Ro's expression turned grave, and he sighed inwardly.
'Sigh! We're heading back into that danger again.'
"What we need to do when we intervene is to separate the two sides as much as possible and prevent the conflict from escalating!"
Lacus shared her thoughts with everyone.
Murrue and the others nodded in agreement upon hearing Lacus's idea.
Seeing everyone approve of her plan, Lacus proposed discussing the tactics for the upcoming operation.
The ZAFT Forces sent as reinforcements were resting here. Among them, the transport ship carrying the Providence Gundam had docked at the base's port.
The Providence Gundam stored inside was also being unloaded.
"Our task is simple: perform a final inspection of the Providence Gundam before officially handing it over to Captain Griffith.
This includes checking the operating system, the joint components of the mobile suit, and the Dragoon System..."
The head of the maintenance team spoke earnestly to his subordinates.
Listening to the team leader, everyone nodded and replied loudly.
"Understood!"
Nodding, the maintenance team leader clapped his hands, his tone softening slightly.
"In that case, let's use the comprehensive equipment here to conduct a full inspection of the Providence Gundam!"
Upon hearing the order, everyone present began to move into action.
Aboard the Vesalius
Creuset stood before his GuAIZ, the image of the Providence Gundam echoing in his mind as he looked at his own mobile suit.
This vision lingered in his thoughts, and the realization that he had completely failed to obtain the key made him clench his fists tightly.
'Damn it!'
He cursed fiercely in his heart.
Creuset's mind then turned to the fact that the Providence was about to be handed over to Felix.
This thought stirred a slight irritation within him.
"Captain, is there any issue with your MS?"
Just as Creuset was deep in thought, a voice sounded beside him. Interrupted, he felt displeased but forced a smile and shook his head.
"No issues, everything is fine."
Upon hearing this, the Hangar Chief breathed a sigh of relief, exhaling deeply and thinking to himself.
'That scared me!'
"By the way, I have something I'd like to ask you!"
Looking at the person beside him, Creuset suddenly remembered something and spoke respectfully.
The Hangar Chief smiled at Creuset's words and replied.
"Captain, you can ask whatever you need directly."
Creuset then spoke up.
"We've captured an Earth Alliance MS, but its system isn't suitable for our use. How should we go about replacing the system?"
Hearing such a simple question, the Hangar Chief answered without hesitation.
"That's quite straightforward. You just need to delete the original system's code and overwrite it with a new system code."
After saying this, the Hangar Chief looked at Creuset, thought for a moment, and then asked.
"Captain, are you planning to seize an Earth Alliance MS?"
Creuset shook his head upon hearing this, glanced at his GuAIZ, and lied.
"The current GuAIZ is already quite good."
As he replied, Creuset added.
"I was just asking out of curiosity."
Hearing Creuset's response, the Hangar Chief didn't think much of it. Looking at Creuset, he pondered and added to his earlier statement.
"Captain, if the enemy's system is linked to a Self-Destruct Program, you can't simply delete and overwrite it. You'd need to deactivate the entire program first!"
"Thank you!"
Hearing the addition, Creuset gave a faint smile and expressed his gratitude.
After thanking him, Creuset turned, patted the Hangar Chief on the shoulder, and then left the Hangar.
Leaving the area, Creuset boarded a small craft and entered the Lorentz Military Base.
Once there, he pretended to wander casually before heading straight to the workshop where the Providence Gundam was parked for inspection.
The Maintenance Chief spotted Creuset, turned, and saluted him.
"Captain Creuset, hello!"
Hearing the greeting, Creuset raised his arm in a return salute and greeted with a smile.
"Hello!"
After the exchange, Creuset lowered his arm, his gaze falling on the Providence Gundam as he feigned normalcy and inquired.
"What are you all doing here?"
The Maintenance Chief, hearing the question, looked at the Providence Gundam and replied.
"Currently, we're conducting the final comprehensive inspection of the Providence Gundam to ensure it can be deployed directly at the frontlines tomorrow."
Hearing the reply, Creuset pretended to suddenly understand and nodded, then looked at the Providence Gundam and continued asking.
"Can't this kind of inspection work be done inside the transport ship?"
"The equipment inside the transport ship is limited. Some inspections simply can't be performed there, so we have to temporarily move it out here for the work."
Glancing at Creuset, the maintenance squad leader replied.
After giving this response, the maintenance squad leader added with an apologetic expression.
"Captain Creuset, I still have tasks to attend to, so I won't keep you company here for conversation. As long as you don't disturb our work, feel free to do as you please!"
"Understood."
Hearing this, Creuset smiled and nodded in agreement..
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